The time has come, the editor said, to talk of many things: of tasty bites and glorious sights, of Christmas scenes and Tournament of Kings. With that, the annual Las Vegas Magazine survey of things to see, do and taste on the Strip during the most wonderful time of year was off and running.
The Tournament of Kings Arena at Excalibur has transformed into a wintry landscape during the holidays for its annual ’Twas the Knight dinner show. Merlin, King Arthur and company don gay apparel as they aim to recover the Christmas spirit from the evil Mordred, who has cast a spell upon the realm. Maidens dancing in snow are added to the spectacle of clashing swords and galloping horses through Dec. 25, where seasonal Cornish hen is the main course of the positively medieval menu.
Buddy V’s Ristorante
Make it a traditional Christmas Eve with reservations at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas, where Matteo’s Ristorante Italiano will prepare Mediterranean turbot, ravioli and panettone and Milanese sweetbread. Mott 32 serves up Hong Kong crispy fried squab, stir-fried sea cucumber and geoduck. Brera Osteria’s specials include prime rib, pan-seared half chicken and oven-poached Chilean seabass, while Cake Boss Buddy Valastro offers a prix fixe menu at Buddy V’s Ristorante that includes lobster soup, grilled double-cut lamb chops with wild mushroom risotto and asparagus, and chocolate bread pudding.
Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bistro has a five-item seafood platter on its holiday menu that provides ideal pairing with champagne, and a prix fixe menu on Christmas Day. Also featured on Dec. 25 is an à la carte menu at Yardbird with roasted butternut squash salad, corn and crab dip, shrimp and cod stew, and prime rib; while chef Lorena Garcia spices up her menu at Chica with wagyu oxtail tamale, lobster coxinha with Peruvian red pepper and egg nog tiramisu.
On the south end of the Strip, Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas takes a comfort-and-joy approach to the season with custom cocktails, small bites and marshmallow roasting at Press Lounge. Prix fixe feasts will be available at the Veranda Dec. 24-25, and Santa himself will be on hand at Four Seasons on Christmas Day beginning at 10 a.m., while the resort’s five-star spa offers adults holiday cheer in the forms of treatments and mani-pedis.
The Linq Promenade illuminated its 30-foot-tall tree Nov. 17 with an event at its Fountain Stage. Performances by Nevada Rhythmic Academy and singers from Las Vegas Academy preceded a countdown led by Jimmy Kimmel’s Comedy Club headliner Farrell Dillon. Have dinner at one of the many restaurants at promendade, then spy out the tree while rotating around the High Roller Observation Wheel.
Lighthouse Artspace inside The Shops at Crystals presents The Immersive Nutcracker, a Winter Miracle through Dec. 30. The 30-minute family-fare experience delivers scenes from the classic ballet set to Tchaikovsky’s music via a million frames of video projected on 500,000 cubic feet of dreamscape. Animation blends with actual dancers depicting Maria, the Nutcracker and the Mouse King.
A different kind of dreamscape can be seen at AREA15, where The Nightmare Before Christmas is projected floor to ceiling inside The Portal through Dec. 29. Tim Burton’s modern-day classic kicked off the holiday film series at The Cosmopolitan in November on the same day a frozen Boulevard Pool was open for ice skating. The 4,200-square-foot rink is the main feature of the yuletide rooftop scene overlooking the Strip, which includes fire pits perfect for heating s’mores at holiday village The Chalet.
Films are shown on Cosmopolitan’s 65-foot marquee through Jan. 2 on Mondays, Tuesdays, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, while snow showers occur nightly between 7 p.m. and midnight. Overlook Chill (aka Overlook Grill) provides moviegoers with comfort food classics designed to hit the holiday spot, including chicken pot pie biscuits and beef brisket chili, roast turkey French dip with cranberry sauce and gingerbread man cookies.
Santa gets around, so he’ll be at Resorts World Las Vegas for Enchant on the Strip, which opened Nov. 18 with a lighting ceremony for the 100-foot-tall tree in front of the resort. Enchant is a 217,000-square-foot immersive environment with a walk-through light maze, a 17,000-square-foot ice skating rink, live entertainment, mischievous elves and a holiday marketplace manned by local artisans. A second Enchant in Summerlin at Las Vegas Ballpark opened the following week, giving locals in the western Vegas Valley a chance to experience Enchant’s Hallmark Channel Holiday House without having to drive far.
FSLV (previously Fashion Show Las Vegas) is a go-to Christmas scene. Besides shopping and dining, FSLV’s Great Hall plays host to Instagrammable installation Holiday Wish, where visitors write or choose a wish and insert it into a machine that sends it through transparent tubes. Santa Claus himself appears to hear whispered wishes on select dates through Christmas Eve, with Thursday dedicated to ugly sweater appreciation.
Visitors staying in the eastern Vegas Valley likely already know about Mystic Falls Park at Sam’s Town on Boulder Highway. A winter fantasy display and nine-minute laser light shows are the hallmarks of Mystic Falls, which will be accessible through New Year’s Day. Sam’s indoor atrium is populated by animated teddy bears handmade in Italy, with an 18-foot tree serving as the display’s centerpiece. The halls are decked with thousands of lights, snow, icicles, animatronic characters and oversized candy canes. Laser light shows run every hour and are accompanied by a singalong soundtrack featuring carols such as “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” “Let It Snow” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”
Singing along is welcome at A Very Terry Christmas at New York, New York. Ventriloquist Terry Fator celebrates Christmas in song with his cast of co-stars including Winston the Impersonating Turtle, Maynard Tompkins (the world’s greatest Elvis impersonator), Vikki the Cougar and Wrex the Crash Test Dummy. Fator is always creating new characters, some of whom are based on pop culture figures, so there’s no telling who may show up to help celebrate the season in song.
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